From adding perks and raising annual fees to building out airport lounges, the premium travel card space has never been more crowded than it is now. Citi got (back) in the game with the launch of the new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card back in July … and just upped the ante in a big way.
For a limited time, you can earn 100,000 Citi ThankYou points after spending $6,000 in the first three months. That's up from the debut offer of 80,000 points, albeit with $2,000 of additional spending required. Even still, this is a fantastic offer and considering the Strata Elite's launch coincided with Citi adding American Airlines as a 1:1 transfer partner, ThankYou points are more valuable than ever.
Beyond the big bonus, the Strata Elite packs a punch with “nearly $1,500 in value” – Citi's words, not mine. The truth is, getting $1,500 in value out of the card each and every year will be tough for the average traveler. But with an annual $300 hotel credit, $200 “splurge” credit, airport lounge access, and much more, there is enough here to make the card's $595 annual fee worth paying for many travelers. Add in the current bonus offer and the card is a clear winner … at least for the first year.
Read on for everything you need to know about the Citi Strata Elite and this new limited-time offer.
Citi Strata Elite℠ Card Benefits Overview
- Welcome Bonus: For a limited time, you can earn 100,000 Citi ThankYou Points after spending $6,000 within the first three months.
- Earn 12x points per dollar on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6x points per dollar on airfare booked through cititravel.com
- Earn 6x points per dollar at restaurants on “Citi Nights,” available on Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m. through 6 a.m. ET
- Earn 3x points per dollar at restaurants at other times
- Earn 1.5x points per dollar on all other purchases
- $300 Annual Hotel Credit: You can get up to $300 off a hotel stay (of two nights or more) once per calendar year by booking through Cititravel.com
- $200 Annual “Splurge” Credit: Each calendar year, you can earn up to $200 in statement credits on your choice of up to two of the following companies: 1stDibs, American Airlines (exclusions apply), Best Buy, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation (exclusions apply).
- $200 Annual Blacklane Credit: You can earn up to $200 in statement credits with Blacklane, a premium global chauffeur service. That's split into two semi-annual $100 credits: One from January through June and another from July through December.
- Priority Pass Membership for Lounge Access, not including Priority Pass restaurants
- 4 Annual America Airlines Admirals Club Lounge Passes
- $120 Credit Towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, available once every four years
- $595 annual fee, plus $75 per authorized user
All information about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Our Take
There's a lot to like about this new card … and a couple of real head scratchers.
Let's start with the good: The annual fee is reasonable, $595 per year. I realize that probably sounds crazy, but compared to the new annual_fees annual fee Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the now annual_fees (see rates & fees) per year American Express Platinum Card®, it's considerably cheaper than the competition. Still, the Capital One Venture X remains in a league of its own with a much more modest $395 annual fee.
Citi followed the trend of loading up premium cards with a handful of use-them-or-lose-them, annual (and biannual) statement credits. This arguably isn't a “good” thing, but if you plan to pick up the card, making use of them is key to justifying the annual fee.
Here's what's at stake:
- Up to $300 hotel credit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- This is similar (but less valuable) than what you get with both the Amex Platinum and Sapphire Reserve, though without the perks that come with booking through Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Edit by Chase Travel℠.
- Up to $200 annual “Splurge” credit: Every calendar year, earn up to $200 in statement credits on your choice of up to two of the following brands: 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy®, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation.
- This one is actually kind of interesting, though note that you must activate your “Splurge” merchants beforehand. Considering this is a travel card after all, many people will have no problem at all spending $200 per year with American Airlines. If all else fails, Best Buy and Live Nation are nice fallback options.
- Up to $200 annual Blacklane credit: Every calendar year, earn up to $200 in statement credits when you book with Blacklane, a premium global chauffeur service. Earn up to $100 on Blacklane purchases from January through June and up to $100 from July through December.
- This could be useful, though I've not personally used the service, and its footprint is quite limited. Annoyingly, it's split up into two, semi-annual credits.
- Up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit: Receive a statement credit, up to $120 every four years, as reimbursement for your application fee for Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck®.
When it comes to making purchases, the spending categories are … kind of strange. The “Citi Nights” promotion for double the points at restaurants seems needlessly complicated and there's absolutely no bonus for booking travel directly, which stinks. But the silver lining is that you'll earn at least 1.5x on all spending, which could make this a decent, catch-all card.
Lounge access is … kind of a dud. Priority Pass Select memberships are practically a given for premium travel cards these days, but nonetheless, it's nice to have if this is your one and only premium card. Unfortunately, the Strata Elite doesn't include Priority Pass restaurant access, as many other Mastercards (including the defunct Citi Prestige Credit Card) do.
But while Capital One and Chase have been busy building out their own lounge networks to compete with Amex Centurion Lounges, Citi has nada. Its solution? Four annual passes to get into American Airlines Admirals Clubs. Just four passes per year seems a little chintzy, but unlike the Amex Platinum, which provides 10 visits per year to Delta Sky Clubs® (Feb. 1 – Jan. 31), you can use these Admirals Club passes for guests.
The upside is that you can bring in up to three children (under 18) with each adult guest. This means most families should be able to hit the Admirals Club twice per year – or once per roundtrip – on a big vacation.
In all, the Citi Strata Elite is a solid, but not spectacular, premium travel card. It's the least Citi could do at a time when they needed a premium travel card on the market. But between Chase’s recently refreshed Sapphire Reserve and the new-look Amex Platinum Card, the Strata Elite feels a little lackluster … even at its more reasonable price point.
How to Use This Big Bonus
In the world of travel rewards, Citi ThankYou points have always taken a backseat to the likes of American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One miles, and of course, Bilt Rewards – which might just be the most valuable currency of all. But with the recent addition of American Airlines as a 1:1 transfer partner, that logic is sorely outdated.
Even if you avoid flying AA like the plague, AAdvantage miles are some of the most valuable airline miles in the world. With reasonable award rates and world-class partners like Qatar Airways, Etihad, and Japan Airlines, having a big stash of AA miles is a high-quality problem to have.
The list of great ways to redeem AA miles is far too long to list here. But a few highlights include:
- Domestic one-ways for 5,000 miles or less
- Roundtrips to the Caribbean for as low as 12,000 miles, sometimes less!
- Flash sales to Europe for under 35,000 miles roundtrip!
- Japan Airlines (JAL) business class to Tokyo – or JAL first class for 80,000 miles!
- Book Qatar Qsuites for 70,000 miles … but while finding the award space from the U.S. to Doha (DOH) is tough these days, you can easily book flights between the Middle East and Europe, Asia, or beyond for even fewer AAdvantage miles!
Beyond the ability to transfer ThankYou points to AAdvantage miles, Citi has a handful of other partners that are worth your attention. Many of these, like Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, and Avianca LifeMiles, partner with most (if not all) of the other big banks. But a few valuable options, like Turkish Airlines and EVA Air, are harder to come by.
With Citi frequently running big transfer bonuses to select partners, like the current trio of bonuses to Avianca, Turkish Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic, you might even be able to stretch your miles even further.
Considering you can book business class seats to Istanbul for just 65,000 miles each way, a 50% bonus like this means you'd need just 44,000 ThankYou points to make it happen. This 100,000-point bonus would be more than enough for a roundtrip – or two one-ways for you and your favorite travel buddy. Granted, this specific bonus won't still be around by the time you earn the bonus, but it does give a good sense of what's possible with ThankYou points.
Generally speaking, hotels are Citi's weakest link. Without a big-name hotel partner like Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, or even IHG, you're limited to smaller chains with limited footprints and more budget-friendly hotels when it comes to redeeming your ThankYou points for a free night stay.
But it's not all bad news. Citi points transfer 1:2 to Choice Hotels – and even though you won't be able to book the Park Hyatts and Waldorf Astorias of the world with Choice points, there are still some really nice options out there.
Take the Radisson Blu Aruba, for example. This hotel is just a few blocks from Palm Beach and offers resort-like accommodations with plenty of great restaurants and nightlife within walking distance. Free nights here go for 30,000 Choice Privilege points per night – just 15,000 Citi ThankYou points with the 1:2 transfer ratio. That means by the time you meet the Strata Elite's spending requirement, you'd have just enough points to book a weeklong stay on this notoriously pricey Caribbean island.
Compared to the cash cost of $4,700 for this same hotel, that's an absolute steal. But best of all, you're not getting a standard hotel room at that price point. For 30,000 points per night, you can book a full two-bedroom suite with a small kitchenette, dining area, and living room, allowing you to bring the whole family and really spread out.
Other hotel transfer partners include Wyndham Rewards, The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), and Preferred Hotels & Resorts … all at varying transfer ratios. Notably, Preferred Hotels & Resorts points transfer at a really strong 1:4 ratio and open the door to a loose collection of luxury hotels around the world.
Bottom Line
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card is Citi’s newest premium travel credit card, currently offering a big, limited-time welcome bonus of 100,000 ThankYou points after spending $6,000 in three months.
While its $595 annual fee is steep, the card packs in valuable perks like a $300 in hotel credits, a $200 “splurge” credit, lounge access, and elevated earning on travel and dining purchases, making it a strong first-year value. With American Airlines now a 1:1 transfer partner, Citi ThankYou points have become significantly more useful for high-value redemptions, especially on international business class flights.
Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
